Electrical devices such as lighting fixtures are commonly mounted on interior or exterior surfaces with what is known in the electrical trade as an outlet box. Outlet boxes are adapted to receive electrical cable and an outlet cover. They are typically mounted either flush with or recessed within a wall, ceiling or floor.
On an interior wall, for example, electrical cable carrying house current, usually installed previously within the wall, is clamped to an outlet box which is then recessed within and rigidly mounted to the wall. One or more electrical devices are then mounted to an outlet cover. After wiring the device to the electrical cable inside the outlet box, the outlet cover is mounted on the outlet box, thus affixing the connected electrical device(s) to the interior wall.
Electrical devices are typically installed on exterior surfaces in a similar manner although the outlet box is usually not recessed, but is instead mounted flush with the surface on which it is mounted. In this case, a relatively small hole is usually drilled into the wall to permit the cable to pass into the outlet box. Cables may also be carried along the outside of the wall to the outlet box via steel pipes.
Although the use of the outlet box for mounting electrical devices in this way is almost universal in the electrical trade, its use poses several problems. Because the electrical devices mounted to the outlet cover are connected directly to the house wiring within the outlet box, modification or exchange of the devices after initial installation involves the time consuming process of disconnecting the old devices and reconnecting the new. Additionally, because the electrical devices must be wired to potentially live wiring within the outlet box before the outlet cover can be mounted to it, a shock hazard exists during installation and every time the fixture is modified or exchanged.
Mounting electrical devices in exterior locations using an outlet box presents significant additional difficulties. Because they are directly exposed to weather conditions, exterior electrical fixtures must be relatively weatherproof. Although weatherproof outlet boxes are common in the electrical trade, holes drilled to accommodate wiring, for example, must be sealed with silicone rubber or a similar substance to completely weatherproof the installation thereby adding time and inconvenience to the process.
Furthermore, as considerations of convenience and security call more and more frequently for remotely switched lighting, there is a need for a system that may easily incorporate a variety of remote electrical switches and to protect them from weather and tampering.
For the foregoing reasons, there is a need for a novel system to mount substantially any electrical device in indoor and outdoor locations with relative ease and to permit removal, replacement and/or reorientation without the need for repeated rewiring.